Tripp Twyman, president of the Eller African American Honorary, is studying accounting and finance at the Eller College of Management with plans to graduate in May 2018. Check out his responses to our seven questions:

Where are you from?

I’m from San Diego, CA.

Why did you choose the UA?

They offered me the National Scholars Award, and when I came to visit I really loved the campus. The fact that we have a top 10 business school is a bonus!

What made you choose your major?

I’m really into numbers (I have a math minor for that exact reason). Accounting is appealing to me because it gives me a fundamental understanding of business and the way resources flow through an organization. Finance is pretty neat too because it gives me the opportunity to look at the way resources flow between organizations, and looking at the way different events/sentiments affect markets is fascinating.

What type of professional experience have you had so far?

This past summer, I interned with StepStone Global, which is a private equity firm based in La Jolla, CA. This gave me an opportunity to try my hand in the finance world and explore the private equity industry. During the academic year, I’m working as a part-time staff accountant with Calvert & Ivester PLLC, a local CPA firm. As for this coming summer, I recently accepted an internship offer from Ernst & Young in their San Diego office.

How have you been involved on campus so far?

I’m one of the founding members of the Eller African American Honorary and this year I have the privilege of serving as president of the organization. This is also my second year with the Eller Unity Board, which is a group at Eller committed to promoting diversity and inclusiveness in business while encouraging students to come together and share their unique perspectives. This year I’ve also gotten involved with Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting fraternity, which has allowed me to further explore careers in accounting and learn from like-minded students.

What has your involvement and professional experience taught you?

My involvement around campus has taught me that good people and gratitude are major keys. What I mean is long term, I believe that finding a community of people that care about you and being part of a culture of mutual respect and support will take you further than stellar grades and a strong resume ever will. Obviously technical skills are important but once you develop those, soft skills like emotional intelligence, empathy, and living in gratitude really make the difference. My professional experience has taught me that I don’t want to be behind a desk all day.

What are your plans for after graduation?

I think I’m going to pursue a Master’s of Accounting. I’m also toying with the idea of getting a JD and an MBA. I think this is partly because my family has always put such a big emphasis on education. Either way, I think I want to finish school (at whatever level that is) and then return to San Diego to work, start a family, and hopefully start working with the same community organizations that helped me when I was younger.